Sandal



Aug. 9, 1949. F. E. MoRRw ETAL SANDAL Filed Dec. 27, 1946 TTOe/VY Patented Aug. 9, 1949 SANDAI.Y

"Fred-E. Morromlios Angeles, and Clarence .Wise Brea, Calif.

Application ,Dewinter 27, 1946, serial. No.. 713,862

the 1consi'Jr-uc't-ion of and themeans for connect-V ing the articulated sections, which' give and maintain =a top Vside contour conforming Ato the natural Vc'ontouroi the bottomorth-e foot when lstanding andthe vary-ing contours assumed in walking, thus lproviding a sandal which4 forms an adequatesuppor't for v"the foot, and `ym possesses 'the flexibility and comfort of a' 'leather shoe.

-t is also -a purpose of our Aintention to pre'- "v-ide a sole-for sandals fin whichtheconnect-ing means for the 4sole sectionsMv comprises coiled springs secured under` tension to soA yielding-ly connect the articulated sections that Vthe-sole as a 4-wlfiole possesses a resi-lient exib'iiity' that permits it to Aflex withan'd llunder the normal bending movements -o Vthe foot in Walking, Vbut restores-it -to` an adequate foot supporting position standing. As a consequence, the sole constantly conforms to .ones foot .contour so as not to aord any impediment to ones walking 'in' the normalmanner. y

We will describe only one form of sandal' embodying enr iinfentiongandfwillthen point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

lig. 1 is Ya. View showing in top vplan .onel'orm .of sandalv embodying ourginvention.

Fig. `2"is a view showing the sandal in elevation. Y y

Fig. .3 is a longitudinalsectional View taken onthe-.lineB-S of liial.Y f

Eig. 4 isan enlarged fragmentary side elevation View of. .the sandal sole. f, ,f

With specic reference tothe drawings, our invention in it present embodiment comprises a sandal having a sole, generally indicated at S, with any suitable means for attaching the sole to the foot of the wearer, such means, in the present instance, comprising an instep strap T and a toe strap TI, each of which is secured to the longitudinal edges of the sole by suitable fastening members F.

The sole S is made up of a multiplicity of articulated ribs or sections constructed of wood, plastic, or other suitable material having the required wearing properties, and a heel preferably formed of rubber which is secured to the side sole by-nailsA 'I 5 `or other suitable fastening *members. The heel is adapted to be used only where the sections forming the heel'oi the sole-are of thesame thickness as theremaining sections -of the sole.v V

To facilitate ldescriptionof vthe mode-of operation of the sandal-When in use, I-shallseparately designate the sole sections constituting the heel, the shank, and the toe supportingV portions i'for a foot. rThe heel supporting portion may Ebe made of one or more sections l5,While-the=shank portion is made 4up of sections il' toZ-l-iinclusive, The 'toe supporting portion :is Ymade up of sections 22 to 2E inclusive.

All orti- 1e sections of the sole are -joined one to the v'other -by'means providing articulation be ytween vthe sections,v and 'thismeana iin the-presentf instance, comprises two or morecoled con 'tractile springs El. Each spring isf-in theviorrn of -a-coiled wire, Apreferably aY piano fw'ireto apro vider' the necessary strength, durability, :and resiliency, and the two springs extend-'through :parallel bores '2.8 formedv in the sections. ltfwill be particularly noted that these bores 128`are vnearer the top of ythe' sole :sections than "the bottom soV thatthe springs are .correspondingly situated, and for a purpose to 'bedescribed hereinafter.-

'Each spring 2.41V Yis of such length as toA extend-transversely through all of the sole 4sec-- vti-ons, with @its `ends terminating vsubstantially flush with the l,outer edges ofth-e outermost itce and fheelrsections.' .Such endsare secured in the aforesaid .sections by corrugatedibi-adsI 29, or other :suitable Afastening members, which' .are drieen-into the 'under ,sidesxof' the sole-sections 'to `ybite into-the spring ends andA thuszsecure-xthe 'latter against longitudinal; movement 'Waithindhe isole'. lnpractice', itn-is essential thatfthefsprings 271 .be associated withxthe sole sections `as 'to :he constantly under tension so as tofeurge thesec'f fi'fioilis .toward .each` ether, land. Ato this end Lithe springs originally are longer than the sole so that by rst securing one end of the springs in the toe section 25, for example, by the use of the brads 29, the other ends will project from the heel of the sole so that they can be pulled and the springs placed under tension. While the springs are under tension the brads 29 are applied to the heel section thus maintaining the springsvunder tension, and, following which, the projecting ends of the springs are cut oir iiush with the surface of the heel section.

In order that the sole S may have the general curvature of the bottom of the foot so as to support the foot when the wearer is standing, and

also to allow the requisite exing of the sole so that it is free to conform to the bending movements of the foot in walking, the shank sections I8 to 20 have their confronting edges slightly beveled in opposite directions transversely to normally leave narrow gaps between the sections at the under sides thereof. The confronting edges of the sections and 2| are beveled in the same manner as the other sections, but to a greater degree as indicated at 3l, in order that the contour of the sole at this point properly merges into the toe supporting portion of the sole. The sole sections forming the toe supporting portion of the sole, as well as the forward edge of the section 2i, are all formed with coextensive longitudinal grooves of angular form to provide coextensive recesses 32. These recesses allow turning movement of the sections 22 to 26 in various degrees to permit the toe sup-- porting portion of the sole, to coliform to the bending movements of the toes of the wearer in walking.

In practice, the springs 21 being under tension as associated with the sole sections, urge such sections toward each other, and because they extend through the sections adjacent the upper sides thereof, they exert pulling forces transversely of the sections which, by virtue of the beveled edges 30 and 3| and the recessed edges 32 cause the sole to normally assume the general curvature of the bottom of the foot of the wearer. Thus, normally the sole provides adequate support for the foot of the wearer when in a standing posture.

When the wearer is walking the resilient connections between the sections I1 to 26 provided by the springs 21, allow such flexing of the sole that it yields to and follows the bending movements of the foot, as not to interfere with or offer any discomfort to the wearer when walking.

In this sole exing movement the recessed edges 32 allow upward turning movement individually of the sections 22 to 26, and to a degree than would otherwise be possible.

Because of the constant tension exerted by the springs on the sole sections, the sole is urged to the normal curvature shown in Fig. 2, and thus when the sole is not subjected to any bending movements as in walking, it automatically returns to its normal curvature to afford adequate support for the foot when standing. As a result a, sandal constructed in accordance with our invention enables the wearer to walk or stand in comfort, and the sections can at no time pinch the ash of the wearer because of the constant tendency of the sections to assume their normal positions under the action of the springs, and thus close the joints between the sections in the upper sides thereof in advance of lowering movements of the foot.

Although we have herein shown and described only one form of sandal embodying our invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of our invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims:

We claim:

1. A sandal having a sole, including: a multiplicity of transverse sections arranged in side to side relation, those sectionsforming the shank portion of the sole being beveled at their confronting sides at substantially the same angle but in opposed directions transversely thereof, those sections forming the toe and ball portions of the sole each having one side at and the other side with a recess extending longitudinally thereof to form an edge at a point above the major axis of the sole providing a fulcrum about which the next section is adapted to pivot; and a plurality of coiled springs extending loosely through all of the sections at points above the major axis of the sole, and secured at their ends to the end sections of the sole so as to be under tension, whereby adjacent toe and ball sections are urged toward each other along lines above the major axis of the sole, and, hence, upwardly about said fulcrums to give normally an upward curvature to the ball and toe portions of the sole.

2. A sandal having a sole, including: a multiplicity of transverse sections arranged in side to side relation, with those sections forming the toe and ball portions of the sole having confronting sides one of which is formed with an edge at a point above the major axis of the sole to provide a fulcrum about which the adjacent section is adapted to pivot upwardly; and a plurality of coiled springs extending loosely through all of the sections at points above the major axis of the sole and secured at their ends to the end sections of the sole so as to be under tension, whereby adjacent toe and ball sections are urged toward each other along lines above tthe major axis of the sole, and, hence, upwardly about said fulcrums to give an upwardly curved contour to the ball and toe portions of the sole.

i FRED E. MORROW.

CLARENCE H. WISE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,964,406 Pellkofer June 26, 1934 1,964,705 Pellkofer June 26, 1934 2,377,141 Geissman May 29, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,576 Great Britain June 28,v 1890 297,864 Germany l May 30, 1917 316,784 Germany Dec. 3, 1919 

